New removable choke tubes in an O/U?

phydaux · October 31, 2010, 04:36 PM

Say I've got a "friend" with an O/U shotgun that has 32" barrels. The barrels have removable choke tubes. My friend wants the barrels shortened to 28" and then tapped to use the removable chokes.

I'm thinking that even if we had a lathe and a mill and every other carbide-tipped dingus in the catalogue, that there's no way we could do it without desodering the barrels apart. And once we do that, then there's less than a snowball's chance that we could ever get the barrels to shoot to the same point of aim ever again.

Seems to me that if he really wants to have the original barrels shortened then he should send them back to the factory. But that it would be a lot faster, and probably a lot cheaper, to just buy a new pair of barrels.

If he had a pump or a semiauto then this might be a fun do-it-yourself project for someone with the right tools. But for an O/U, not so much.

guncrank · November 1, 2010, 09:47 AM

It does not require any power tools to shorten a shotgun barrel or barrels.
What is required is the right tooling - a reamer and tap - these are called choke tube tooling.
These can be rented or purchased. But just because you have tools , it still requires being able to determine if you have enough concerticty and enough wall thickness.
CEW

Scorch · November 1, 2010, 10:29 AM

Send the gun to Briley in Texas. For about $300-$400 they will ream and fit the barrels with their slim choke tubes.

Of course, since you say it has 30" barrels with removanle chokes, it sounds like a trap gun, in which case your friend may be better off just selling the gun and using the sale money plus some spare funds to buy another in the correct configuration.

phydaux · November 1, 2010, 10:53 AM

"It does not require any power tools to shorten a shotgun barrel or barrels.
What is required is the right tooling - a reamer and tap - these are called choke tube tooling."

So you can do it without a lathe? And without desodering the barrels?

JNewell · November 1, 2010, 11:49 AM

The question of whether and which tube type will fit without fatally thinning the muzzle area is not guesswork.

I'd send it out. I have had Mike Orlen do this work. He's fast, affordable and accurate. You could literally ruin the barrel set trying to save a few bucks.

guncrank · November 1, 2010, 12:44 PM

"It does not require any power tools to shorten a shotgun barrel or barrels.
What is required is the right tooling - a reamer and tap - these are called choke tube tooling."

So you can do it without a lathe? And without desodering the barrels?
*
P to answer your question
Yes it is most certainly doable by hand. Or gasp you can use a big drill motor to turn the reamer.
The reamer and tap use a bore pilot that is sized to the bore
I have never used my lathe to install choke tubes.
I learned about choke tubes from Ralph Walkers book and bought my tooling over twenty years ago.
I am limited to what choke I can install.
And O /U are limited to what size by the OD and ID and the concintricty of the barrels.
That you need to measure before you even began.
And shotbarrels are not concentric.
As for messing up a barrel set of course that is possible.
Find somebody who has the knowledge and skill and Mike O and Briley have the known how and skill but they an'it the only ones.
And I never said choke tube installation is guessing.

phydaux · November 1, 2010, 07:24 PM

"I learned about choke tubes from Ralph Walkers book"

Gun Digest Book of Shotgun Gunsmithing? I had a feeling that book would make its way onto my "To Buy" list sooner rather than later.

oneounceload · November 1, 2010, 07:28 PM

He is talking about cutting 32'a to a shorter length with a raised rib - it will take more than just reaming the barrels......

guncrank · November 2, 2010, 07:50 AM

Oneounceshot why is a 32 high rib a problem?
Is it the taper toward the barrel or because it is high?
High rib or low both are cut the same and finished to nearest post
Ask because I really don't know.
CEW

oneounceload · November 2, 2010, 01:03 PM

Most barrels I have seen do have a taper. Add a rib, you need to consider where the closest rib support is as well. If the barrel is really overbored, like a Browning, or worse, a Kolar, finding choke tubes to fit that larger inside diameter might be difficult without sending them off to someone like Briley; which if you need to do that anyway, might as well let them do it, reblue it, etc. Getting the threads in concentric on a taper is way out of MY personal capability, if you have the skills, jigs and equipment - all the best to you.

Depending on the barrels, some are thin and tapered and then swaged out at the end to accommodate the choke tubes, some are fairly thick and not swaged.

All I am saying is really look closely at what needs to be done and how it needs to be done before going at it

zippy13 · November 2, 2010, 02:35 PM

phydaux,
What are you going to do about the space between the barrels? Most O/Us have two side ribs and a cap at the muzzle. When you cut the barrels you expose the void between the side ribs.

As to the rib, some are free floating at the mid supports (like the Simmons on a Model-12) and others aren't. I shortened a spare barrel for a M-1100 Trap by cutting it at the rib support and having it re-threaded for the screw-ins. I don't think I'd consider a similar project for an O/U simply because I don't have a clue how well it would be regulated upon completion.

Do your friend a favor, and steer him towards a new barrel instead of a hack job.

October 31, 2010, 04:36 PM	#1
phydaux Member Join Date: October 31, 2010 Posts: 65	New removable choke tubes in an O/U? Say I've got a "friend" with an O/U shotgun that has 32" barrels. The barrels have removable choke tubes. My friend wants the barrels shortened to 28" and then tapped to use the removable chokes. I'm thinking that even if we had a lathe and a mill and every other carbide-tipped dingus in the catalogue, that there's no way we could do it without desodering the barrels apart. And once we do that, then there's less than a snowball's chance that we could ever get the barrels to shoot to the same point of aim ever again. Seems to me that if he really wants to have the original barrels shortened then he should send them back to the factory. But that it would be a lot faster, and probably a lot cheaper, to just buy a new pair of barrels. If he had a pump or a semiauto then this might be a fun do-it-yourself project for someone with the right tools. But for an O/U, not so much.

November 1, 2010, 09:47 AM	#2
guncrank Senior Member Join Date: July 15, 2006 Location: Fern Creek ,KY and Metro Louisville at large Posts: 430	It does not require any power tools to shorten a shotgun barrel or barrels. What is required is the right tooling - a reamer and tap - these are called choke tube tooling. These can be rented or purchased. But just because you have tools , it still requires being able to determine if you have enough concerticty and enough wall thickness. CEW __________________ Republic Arms and Armaments 07 1-502-231-1118 Machine Shop and Finishing Services to the trade and public

November 1, 2010, 10:29 AM	#3
Scorch Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2006 Location: Washington state Posts: 15,248	Send the gun to Briley in Texas. For about $300-$400 they will ream and fit the barrels with their slim choke tubes. Of course, since you say it has 30" barrels with removanle chokes, it sounds like a trap gun, in which case your friend may be better off just selling the gun and using the sale money plus some spare funds to buy another in the correct configuration. __________________ Never try to educate someone who resists knowledge at all costs. But what do I know? Summit Arms Services

November 1, 2010, 12:44 PM	#6
guncrank Senior Member Join Date: July 15, 2006 Location: Fern Creek ,KY and Metro Louisville at large Posts: 430	"It does not require any power tools to shorten a shotgun barrel or barrels. What is required is the right tooling - a reamer and tap - these are called choke tube tooling." So you can do it without a lathe? And without desodering the barrels? * P to answer your question Yes it is most certainly doable by hand. Or gasp you can use a big drill motor to turn the reamer. The reamer and tap use a bore pilot that is sized to the bore I have never used my lathe to install choke tubes. I learned about choke tubes from Ralph Walkers book and bought my tooling over twenty years ago. I am limited to what choke I can install. And O /U are limited to what size by the OD and ID and the concintricty of the barrels. That you need to measure before you even began. And shotbarrels are not concentric. As for messing up a barrel set of course that is possible. Find somebody who has the knowledge and skill and Mike O and Briley have the known how and skill but they an'it the only ones. And I never said choke tube installation is guessing. __________________ Republic Arms and Armaments 07 1-502-231-1118 Machine Shop and Finishing Services to the trade and public

November 2, 2010, 07:50 AM	#9
guncrank Senior Member Join Date: July 15, 2006 Location: Fern Creek ,KY and Metro Louisville at large Posts: 430	Oneounceshot why is a 32 high rib a problem? Is it the taper toward the barrel or because it is high? High rib or low both are cut the same and finished to nearest post Ask because I really don't know. CEW __________________ Republic Arms and Armaments 07 1-502-231-1118 Machine Shop and Finishing Services to the trade and public

November 1, 2010, 10:53 AM	#4
phydaux Member Join Date: October 31, 2010 Posts: 65	"It does not require any power tools to shorten a shotgun barrel or barrels. What is required is the right tooling - a reamer and tap - these are called choke tube tooling." So you can do it without a lathe? And without desodering the barrels?

November 1, 2010, 11:49 AM	#5
JNewell Senior Member Join Date: March 12, 2000 Posts: 1,092	The question of whether and which tube type will fit without fatally thinning the muzzle area is not guesswork. I'd send it out. I have had Mike Orlen do this work. He's fast, affordable and accurate. You could literally ruin the barrel set trying to save a few bucks.

November 1, 2010, 07:24 PM	#7
phydaux Member Join Date: October 31, 2010 Posts: 65	"I learned about choke tubes from Ralph Walkers book" Gun Digest Book of Shotgun Gunsmithing? I had a feeling that book would make its way onto my "To Buy" list sooner rather than later.

November 1, 2010, 07:28 PM	#8
oneounceload Junior member Join Date: April 18, 2008 Location: N. Central Florida Posts: 8,518	He is talking about cutting 32'a to a shorter length with a raised rib - it will take more than just reaming the barrels......

November 2, 2010, 01:03 PM	#10
oneounceload Junior member Join Date: April 18, 2008 Location: N. Central Florida Posts: 8,518	Most barrels I have seen do have a taper. Add a rib, you need to consider where the closest rib support is as well. If the barrel is really overbored, like a Browning, or worse, a Kolar, finding choke tubes to fit that larger inside diameter might be difficult without sending them off to someone like Briley; which if you need to do that anyway, might as well let them do it, reblue it, etc. Getting the threads in concentric on a taper is way out of MY personal capability, if you have the skills, jigs and equipment - all the best to you. Depending on the barrels, some are thin and tapered and then swaged out at the end to accommodate the choke tubes, some are fairly thick and not swaged. All I am saying is really look closely at what needs to be done and how it needs to be done before going at it

November 2, 2010, 02:35 PM	#11
zippy13 Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2008 Location: SoCal Posts: 6,442	phydaux, What are you going to do about the space between the barrels? Most O/Us have two side ribs and a cap at the muzzle. When you cut the barrels you expose the void between the side ribs. As to the rib, some are free floating at the mid supports (like the Simmons on a Model-12) and others aren't. I shortened a spare barrel for a M-1100 Trap by cutting it at the rib support and having it re-threaded for the screw-ins. I don't think I'd consider a similar project for an O/U simply because I don't have a clue how well it would be regulated upon completion. Do your friend a favor, and steer him towards a new barrel instead of a hack job.